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Low / Budget

6K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  LucasFury 
#1 · (Edited)
Well. I am not certain that this is a good idea. And I don't know how it is going to end. But what the heck. A build thread on Pirate.

This is going to be the story of how to build the cheapest moderately serious wheeler that you can. Not hardcore enough for the hardcore forum (IMHO). When you eyeball that Wagoneer or other FSJ down the street with the flat tire that hasn't moved since you moved into the neighborhood - THIS is what you should do with it. NOT pull the axles and stick them in a hardcore rig (the FSJ axles won't be strong enough for the way you wheel in a couple years, OR you won't be wheeling anymore).

Without any further adieu:

One really crummy looking FSJ Cherokee. Got it cheap. I usually buy them in groups of 2 or three. And this one is no different. An 83 waggy, this 78 cherk, and a 75-ish 4-door cherk parts truck. This is the kind of truck people often just scrap out. I submit to you that they do so becuase they don't really know what they could have, if they just try.







There is the possibility that this truck will get abused in between purchase, and the decision of it's final fate, SO - cut the rusted/bent front flares (and lawn/garden edging rear flares) off the poor old beast. And throw some bald-ass Q78-15's on it to get an idea of how far everything can move or steer with zero lift, and slightly bent springs.



This 'build' will likely happen at a slow (or more accurately sporadic) pace.

I have a zillion things to work on. Most of them are more important than another junk-ass wheeler.

Hope someone gets a laugh by the time it is all done.
 
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#2 ·
when i first lifted mine i was 16 and broke but i had a welder in the shop at school. i did a spring over in the front and flipped the shackle in the rear(gave about a 7in in the front and with bigger shackles in the rear it was about 8in lift) then i threw a set of ford 1/2 ton rear springs in the front with some home made revolving shackles and a 10 bolt and chevy 3/4 ton rear springs in the back with an 8 inch shackle and a jeep cherokee spring cut in half as a buggie spring and a 12 bolt. hers a pic of it then and now. good luck with the build and don't forget to have fun
 

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#3 ·
o ya, and a dodge NP-208 will bolt strait up to the TF-727 if you want to change from driver drop to passenger. (thats what i did to get the 10 bolt in)

total i think i spent 250 for the axles 50 for the tcase all the spring i had laying around in the shop, and i worked for a week at the local drive line shop to pay for the drive lines. i traded some speakers and lawn work for the tires and made a retaining wall for an old farmer for my first winch. i think that is about as low budget as it gets...
 
#4 ·
I like what you've done with yours.

I have had dozens of FSJ's (I have 8 total right now). Stockers and wheelers.



That was my last big one.

Here are some of the others.









The grey woody at the bottom is the current DD.



That one's for sale. Link in sig.

There's more - but that's beside the point.

This one is going to be a 'clean up around the shop by putting everything into one pile' cheap beater wheeler.

And it will be fun.
 
#6 ·
This truck will either get GM 3/4 ton stuff (D44/14B from under my tow-rig project) or Jeep J20 stuff...

It will be welded in back, and if I can get enough stuff sold it will get a selectable of some sort up front. Open front until then, though.

I see the thread you posted in on IFSJA - will answer over there.
 
#7 ·
OK. An actual update.

Got a lot of work done this weekend. Got some more trucks / parts in. Finally took a few minutes to think about what to actually do with this truck.

Dialed back the plans just a little bit. Instead of going 3/4 ton, I am just going to run the D44's that it came with. I have 4 kids, so my BIG wheeler should be a 4-door.

Therefore, this truck is a smaller, easier-to-build wheeler to have some fun with, and then sell. Therefore, 35" tires will be the limit for this truck.

I had lots of windshield time this weekend, and I *THINK* I have come up with the 'plan' for this thing.

Since I am limiting myself to 35's and stock axles, I will also keep the truck TH400 and Quadra-Trac.

The tailgate is hashed. Seriously. P-O welded it to the body. SO, this truck will be cut down to be a pickup cab. The body will remain back to the tail lights, the rear gate MIGHT get cut off and replaced with something that opens. Might just get left on, since if the gate can't open, your stuff can't fall out of the 'bed'.

Shackle reversal up front. Shackle flip in back. Results in about 3" suspension lift. Since the truck is staying QuadraTrac, I want to limit the amount of lift. The TH400 (and t-18) rigs before 1980 have a very short front driveshaft (QT or D20). So, less lift = better driveline angles. However, shackle reversal means that I will need a little longer slip in the front driveshaft.

With the Shackle Reverse / Shackle Flip I will also reverse the front and rear springs to extend the wheelbase. The front will gain 1" to 3" depending on how it ends up (shackle angle will be the critical factor, the amount the wheelbase stretches is controlled by that. I have one waggy that drives great with the shackle reverse, so I will get my measurements from that truck. The rear spring center pin is offset like 3" so flipping the rears will add 6" of wheelbase. So, since we start at about 109" and add (maybe) 2" up front, and about 6" in back, this will end up at maybe 117". That will GREATLY improve the departure angle of the old beast. Also, the extra wb will make it more stable on jumps - since with out much of a crawl ratio, I will have to hit obstacles really fast, so I jump them, instead of crawling them.

(ok, that last bit was sarcasm - BUT - a guy COULD make a pretty fun TREC racer out of this later...)

Will be re-using a roll bar from a pickup as part of this. Will be added to, will be tied to the frame, modified in various ways. Also, the body will be rigidly mounted to the frame. That way the frame / cage / body will have no relative motion between them. Call it a uni-frame-a-cage-a-body.
Like an XJ. Only older. Bigger. Heavier. Faster. And Cooler.

Part of the rigid mounting of the body will be accomplished at the same time as a small body lift is incorporated. The rubber body mounting bushings are maybe an inch thick. Those will be taken out and replaced with square tubing. Probably 2" tubing. Therefore, we get a 1-inch BL out of the deal. Makes some maintenance and repair items easier in the truck. ESPECIALLY bellhousing bolts.

Also, as part of the rigid mount, the body and cage will be tied down to some fairly large rocks slider / rub rails.

Well, that's the plan anyway. Now let's see when I can actually get to work on it.
 
#10 ·
Making the best of the useless bump, have you made any progress one way or the other?
 
#11 ·
Well, progress - yes, but not much on this truck.

I will probably throw pictures of the 79 Cherokee Chief I am working on in here when it is on the road.

And the bump is my fault - I linked the thread to him because he is really looking for a home for those FJ axles - and the double-pass-side setup of the QT would work pretty nice for them...
 
#14 ·
Hey Dave, rememeber this?
UPDATES?

:laughing:
 
#17 · (Edited)
Update? Well, I put this yellow pile on the back burner while I turned another Cherokee into something usable for Lucas Fury... (who has been exceptionally patient and understanding, I might add).

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Tire Automotive tire


Once this is delivered, then I can figure out what to do with the next low-budget FSJ.

Incidentally - on the 'low' and 'budget' theme; the LOWEST and BY FAR MOST STABLE springover job I have ever done is the black Cherokee in the picture here.

I used Dodge pickup front springs, which have the frame-side eye wound 'backward' which results in an SOA that only gains about 3 inches of lift.

You have to move the rear spring hanger back a little over an inch (or move the shackle forward if you don't mind fighting steering relocation issues).

I have driven the black truck at 70 on gravel this week. It rocks.
 
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